Stepfanie Romine is a writer, recipe developer, published author and certified yoga teacher who has lived--and cooked--on three continents. She currently calls Asheville, North Carolina home. 
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SparkPeople Holiday Giveaway Week 5: Tune In to Fitness
Welcome to week 5 of the SparkPeople Holiday Giveaway! Music makes exercise more pleasurable. For most of us, a long run, a Spinning class or a Pilates workout wouldn't be complete without a soundtrack.
That's why we're giving away three iPod Nanos! But, wait, there's more…
Posted 12/28/2009 6:00:00 AM By: : 201 comments 23,523 views
Habits of Healthy Eaters: Celebrate Holidays for One Day
In these modern days, with busy lives, blended families, and packed social calendars, the holidays would be better named the holi-weeks.
For me, the holidays started on Monday, with an office party--lunch from Panera and bowling. Then, after a couple of days of last-minute shopping, working frantically to get ready for the shortened week, and a four-hour drive to my mother's house late last night, we had Christmas Eve dinner with my mom's family.
Today, we were up early to open presents, and soon we'll have lunch with my stepdad's extended family. Tomorrow we have a two-hour drive to my dad and stepmom's for Christmas, round two, and then another two-hour drive home to my boyfriend's mom's house for Christmas, round three. Dinner with a friend will follow on Sunday.
Whew.
My tactic to survive this weekend is easy: I'm celebrating the holiday for one day. The rest of the week is business as usual.
Posted 12/25/2009 10:22:50 AM By: : 72 comments 17,090 views
What We've Been Eating: New Foods to Try
With all that's been going on around the office lately, we haven't had much time to review many new supermarket foods. But one of my New Year's resolutions is to find more time to try new products and pass the good ones along to all you wonderful, hungry readers.
Recently, we tried a few good new products that companies sent us.
Posted 12/23/2009 12:00:00 PM By: : 70 comments 16,990 views
7 Healthy Holiday Tips from Dr. Oz
We recently sat in on a conference call with health expert Dr. Mehmet Oz, who shared with us some great tips on staying healthy throughout the holiday season. "The stress in holidays a lot more sophisticated and complex, with visiting relatives… and additional burdens of shopping and planning," he said. But that doesn’t mean that healthy living had to go on hiatus from Thanksgiving through the New Year. Here are his seven best tips, along with some further reading to help you stay in tip-top shape!
Posted 12/15/2009 10:09:34 AM By: : 72 comments 28,328 views
Save Calories with Diminutive Desserts
During the holiday season, social gatherings abound, with their endless buffets overflowing with temptations. Instead of avoiding the sweets altogether, why not just pare down?
One of our favorite ways to enjoy our cake and still fit into our pants come January 1 is to create bite-size desserts--and stick to just one or two.
Whether you're hosting a dinner for eight or a party for 50, these diminutive desserts are a great idea. They're easier to eat than a slice of a regular-size pie or cake (no silverware needed, just a cocktail napkin), and they are readily portion controlled.
We've rounded up some of our favorite recipes below, along with some tips to help you downsize your sweetest treats.
Posted 12/9/2009 6:54:02 AM By: : 56 comments 20,716 views
A Daily Dose of Motivation
The big day is drawing ever closer. On Dec. 29, "The Spark" will available everyplace you buy books. In the mean time, we're bringing you more interviews with members who have already reserved their copies of the book that experts are calling "a royal win-win" and "a sustainable solution that works over time."
LOUMARG
Think it's too late for you to lose weight? Think again, says Louis Gagliano of Louisville, Colorado. At "75 years young," he joined SparkPeople in September to lose the weight he gained since he quit smoking 22 years ago. (That's a tough habit to kick--way to go!)
Posted 12/7/2009 6:34:58 PM By: : 35 comments 15,439 views
Hungry Girl Shares Her Holiday Tips, Plus Recipes
When it comes to better-for-you tasty treats, Hungry Girl is in the know. This best-selling cookbook author has created lighter versions of everything from the BLT to monkey bread. Cocktails, candy, cupcakes, even crab burritos. Stepfanie, the editor of dailySpark, chatted with Hungry Girl for the first time this summer (read the interview!) and learned plenty of new tips for staying on track and eating what you like. So we were overjoyed to hear that THE Hungry Girl, also known as Lisa Lillien, was available to answer our questions about staying on track during the holidays. In between shooting segments for Rachael Ray's TV show, promoting the Yoplait yogurt that bears the face of her animated alter ego, and a tour for her latest book, Lisa took some time to talk to the dailySpark!
Posted 12/3/2009 12:00:00 AM By: : 65 comments 36,655 views
How Has Healthy Eating Changed Your Life?
This weekend, in addition to cooking Thanksgiving dinner, I hosted a party for 50 people and attended my 10-year high school reunion. By Saturday night, I'd eaten my fair share of carbs and was craving vegetables.
My pre-reunion dinner was a bag of frozen broccoli topped with an egg and some cheese.
My 16-year-old sister had a friend over, and she gave me a weird look as I dug in to my overflowing bowl of green veg.
"How can you eat so much broccoli?" she asked incredulously.
"Easy," I replied. "If I don't eat enough vegetables, I get cranky after a day or so."
"She does," my mom echoed. "Believe me."
That wasn't always the case.
Back in the day, I fed myself with whatever. Sure, I liked vegetables, but I also liked fast food. I liked whole-wheat bread, but I also liked Nutella or butter smeared on top. I didn't really pay attention to what I ate.
But you know what I did notice? I noticed that I was tired, cranky, stressed and anxious more often than not. When I moved to South Korea and started paying more attention to my diet, I started to feel better.
After I ate that bowl of broccoli, I felt better. And then I started thinking about comfort food. Since adopting a healthy lifestyle, my idea of comfort food has changed drastically. Has it for you?
Posted 12/1/2009 12:49:13 PM By: : 199 comments 44,557 views
Thankful for Who I Am and Where I've Been
Today, I am thankful.
For the job that allows me to help make a difference in people's lives. For the boyfriend who supports me unconditionally. For the family who loves me. For the friends who stand by me when life gets tough. For the education I've received, for the places I've been, for the things that I've seen.
For the body I have.
Posted 11/26/2009 12:00:00 PM By: : 83 comments 18,610 views
5 Yoga Poses to Help You Rest Better
In addition to the physical benefits of yoga, it has plenty of mental benefits as well. Certain poses can help energize you and others can help relax you.
While I wouldn't recommend a full yoga practice just before bed, doing a few of these gentle, restorative poses before going to sleep can help you rest easier.
You can do most of these poses in your bedroom while wearing your pajamas. You might want to have a mat under you for comfort.
To facilitate your voyage to dream land, turn off the TV and dim the lights. Before beginning, come to a comfortable seated position on your mat and close your eyes. Start breathing in and out through your nose, in long, even breaths. After 10 breaths, open your eyes and begin these poses. You can hold each one for as long as you'd like, at least five breaths.
Posted 11/24/2009 6:27:08 PM By: : 148 comments 74,551 views
Meet the Members: Tips to Stay on Track
We're back with another round of member stories.
These tips and stories come from some of our "Spark" preorder prize winners. These SparkPeople members won our daily T-shirt giveaways, and now they're Spreading the Spark in return by sharing their best tips, in their own words.
Meet Cathy, Leah and Colleen!
Posted 11/23/2009 2:29:03 PM By: : 23 comments 18,321 views
Top 10 Reasons to Preorder 'The Spark'
Around the SparkPeople offices, the excitement is palpable. Ours is an upbeat and motivating environment normally, but the closer we get to the launch date for "The Spark," the more energized we get.
Each day as we navigate the site, we see the "I Pre-Ordered The Spark" icons, read the Message Board posts about the book and respond to inquiries about why people should preorder it. The Spark is catching on!
While The Spark truly needs no explanation--it's that phenomenal--we wanted to share with you a few more reasons that you can share with your still-unaware and unconvinced friends!
So why should you preorder a copy (or two) or The Spark? We'll tell you why--with comments from members who are part of the book's pilot program.
Posted 11/18/2009 11:14:35 AM By: : 34 comments 12,188 views
45 Ways to Save Money on Your Holiday Feasts
When it comes to Thanksgiving, it's not just the calories and fat content that many of us have to worry about--it's the price. The average cost of this year’s feast for 10 is $42.91, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation. (That's good news! It marks a 4 percent decrease since last year.)
This time of year, the added cost of a huge meal for the entire family can be intimidating. While we want to entertain our loved ones and give them a tasty, nutritious and bountiful spread, we also need to be able to keep food on the table for the rest of the month.
We know that for many of us, Thanksgiving is the beginning of a long--and often expensive--holiday season.
We embrace frugal living and know you do, too. So we've asked readers, SparkPeople experts and few dietitians to share tips on how they save money on their Turkey Day dinner. We've got dozens of ideas to help you save money from Thanksgiving through the New Year.
Posted 11/16/2009 11:23:08 PM By: : 80 comments 51,187 views
Announcing the 10 Semifinalists in Our First SparkRecipes Contest
After much deliberation, plenty of tasting and a bit of input from readers, we've chosen the 10 semifinalists in the SparkRecipes Un-Chained Recipe Contest. Five were chosen in each of two categories, fast food and casual dining. Want to see who won the $25 SparkCertificates good for anything at SparkPeoplestore.com? Keep reading!
Posted 11/16/2009 1:17:41 PM By: : 46 comments 38,653 views
Meet the Members: Small Steps, Big Results
I'm really excited to bring you another round of interviews with members! As I told you last month, I'm trying to get more of your stories published on the blog this year. In addition to your Success Stories, food reviews and tales of Spreading the Spark, I'm also going to be sharing your best tips.
These tips and stories come from some of our "Spark" preorder prize winners. These SparkPeople members won our daily T-shirt giveaways, and now they're Spreading the Spark in return by sharing their best tips, in their own words.
Posted 11/9/2009 12:29:25 PM By: : 53 comments 15,734 views
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